When Big E finally became WWE Champion, it looked as if a long-overdue lengthy main event run was on the cards for him. While he did the best with what he had to work with, bad booking let The New Day member down and his title reign ending with a loss to Brock Lesnar was a major blow to fans.
On the March 11, 2022 episode of SmackDown, Big E suffered a broken neck after taking an overhead belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland at ringside. He's been sidelined ever since and, unfortunately, it seems there's still no timetable for an in-ring return.
"It’s all together. The bones are connected to the other bones," he recently told TMZ. "I just want to make a smart decision. I didn’t start wrestling to end up in a wheelchair. So I want to make sure I’m making the best decision for myself."
"I don’t have a timeline unfortunately, so thank you for asking."
The gossip site caught up with Big E during a recent reunion with fellow New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods for an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. After the latter duo's recent run-ins with Imperium, the expectation is that Big E will return at the Royal Rumble, eliminate Gunther, and become Intercontinental Champion at WrestleMania.
"I wanted it to be a five-course meal, and it was more of an appetizer," Big E previously said of his run as WWE Champion. "I’m overly critical of my work to begin with, so I wouldn’t say I was happy with it. My hope was to knock it out of the park, and I fell a bit short. So it’s motivating to start that climb back."
"I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed to see it end that way. And it’s not anything against Brock," he continued. "Brock is a very special athlete, human and performer. There is no shame in losing to Brock Lesnar. I took a moment to soak in the sadness. The highs of winning, like at Money in the Bank or cashing in, those are incredible. But the lows suck, too. And that’s motivation to fuel me."
While not the same as the WWE title, Big E returning to dethrone the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time would be quite the comeback and, hopefully, will push The New Day back up the card.
Stay tuned for updates.